1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to e-mail. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for managing account information necessary for providing a function of mail exchange between a server and a terminal apparatus (client).
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in order to execute mail exchange between users via a mail server, a mail application for transmitting/receiving mail from/to the mail server is used in a terminal apparatus. In the mail application, account information including information of a mail address and a mail server is registered. When the mail address is changed and/or the mail server used for mail exchange is changed, the user manually registers the changed account information in the mail application.
When account information registered in the mail application is corrupted for some reason, the user has to manually reregister account information in the mail application. When the user changes the terminal apparatus used for mail exchange, the user has to register account information in the mail application that is run in a new terminal apparatus. Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication 2002-288059 discloses an electronic device including an USB interface for easily registering account information in the mail application of the terminal apparatus.
Since the user has to manually register account information in the conventional mail application, there is a problem in which too much time is taken. Even when the electronic device of the above patent document is used, registration of at least the first account information has to be manually executed by the user. When the user operates a different terminal apparatus for mail exchange, the user has to register account information in the mail application of the new terminal apparatus. Thus, the user has to memorize or record the account information.
As a matter of fact, if the user once registers account information in the mail application and copies account information to the electronic device disclosed in the above patent document, the account information can be registered in the mail application of the new terminal apparatus based on the account information copied onto the electronic device. However, in the case where the account information is changed, the account information copied onto the electronic device is not the most current information. In this case, it is impossible to use the account information copied onto the electronic device. Therefore, the above problem is not solved.